Donate Christmas trees to the military

Yenser's Tree Farm in Lehighton, Carbon County, and four other Pennsylvania farms, are participating in the 2018 Trees for Troops drive, which sends Christmas trees to military bases.

Yenser's Tree Farm in Lehighton, Carbon County, and four other Pennsylvania farms, are participating in the 2018 Trees for Troops drive, which sends Christmas trees to military bases. (Morning Call file photo)

Christmas can be a lonely time, especially for the nation’s military personnel and their families.

So give them a little holiday cheer by buying them a Christmas tree.

Five Pennsylvania farms are participating in the 2018 Trees for Troops drive, which sends Christmas trees to military bases, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The program runs from Friday to Sunday.

“Today we invite our friends and neighbors to join us in this partnership and help us thank Pennsylvania’s military service members,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Reading. “This simple act can help inspire hope and can provide our troops with a little piece of home, no matter where they are.”

The program is part of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, a non-profit branch of the National Christmas Tree Association, which represents more than 700 farms in 29 states.

Since it started in 2005, more than 176,000 Christmas trees have been shipped to military families and troops in the United States and overseas. Last year, more than 17,400 Christmas trees were delivered to 70 U.S. military bases and 250 trees delivered to four international bases.

“This outstanding program will send trees overseas to spread joy to service members deployed far away from their families, and also deliver trees stateside to brighten the hearts of our troops and their families who were fortunate to be home for the holidays,” said Maj. Gen. Tony Carelli, head of DMVA.

In other holiday news, Gov. Tom Wolf and First Lady Frances Wolf will light the Capitol’s Christmas Tree at a noon ceremony Thursday Dec. 6.

It is an 18-foot Douglas Fir from Crystal Spring Tree Farm in Lehighton, Carbon County.